Real Estate: mortgage payer vs. who's on title

Okay so my sugar baby is in the process of going through a divorce. The house her and her ex lived was purchased by her ex's father and his name is on the deed/title. However she/they have made all of the mortgage payments and property tax payments since they've lived in the house (for the past several years). I guess things were initially civil, but now the father is saying the house is 100% his and she'll get nothing. Today she got an eviction notice served as well (she's been continuing to make the mortgage payments the past few months).

She's trying to get some help/insight from the court and also trying to find a real estate attorney to help out, but in the mean time it's really screwing up our plans, lol. We're supposed to take a trip together later this week and now I'm worried these legal issues are going to throw a wrench into it. She said she had 4 days to respond or loses by default, so I'm assuming she got a 3-day notice to quit?

Any thoughts/tips?

Seems like her Divorce Attorney should get involved immediately and get something filed on her behalf. Interesting play by the Father-in-Law and in the long run she may get screwed but up front it's hard for them to get her out fast if she does not want to go willingly. In cases like these it's often a matter of who blinks.....

In California if the tenant has lived in the premises for more than one year, the landlord must provide at least 60 days' notice to vacate. It's 30 days here in Texas. If the tenant fails to vacate within the appropriate notice period, or fails to correct his breach of the agreement, the landlord may pursue an eviction action.

AFTER the 60 days the Landlord can file with the court. The Court will first serve the tenant with a copy of the suit and set it for a hearing which is typically 2 to 3 weeks later. At the earliest, legally, he can't get her out for 3 months typically....

California ranks with Texas and New York as having the best crafted laws to protect tenants as well as landlords. Fairly fair and detailed as to the process

It will be interesting in the long run how this plays out.

No matter where the payments for the home originated it sounds like the father is the legal owner.

Some points of leverage that could work in her favor....

a) Is there a written lease? In the absence of one then the court will often want the owner to establish what the terms are in writing BEFORE allowing then to proceed with an eviction. I.E. a Certified letter outlining the understanding with a time frame for her to respond.

b) Is there a written Sales Contract from the Father to the Son and/or you? Maybe a Contract for Deed? If so it would not be an eviction he could process. If there were grounds he could call the note and foreclose.....

c) In purchasing the house did the father sign any documents that identified he would be an "Owner/Occupant" or did he purchase as an Investor? Many foreclosures are sold with written understandings of who can purchase the property. If he did so without legal right due to misrepresenting his interest he may not want it brought out.

d) If the Mortgage company made the loan believing the Owner intended to live in the home did they use a federal backed Loan designed for Owner Occupants..... This would be another leverage point... If the bank was under the impression the father was inhabiting the home they could decide to "call the note" as what he is doing in buying it for you to live in presents risk the bank was unaware of and they could require the loan to be paid off. If rates have gone up and equity exists it's not a bad play for the bank

The biggest issue she faces is in regards to the actions the father takes. Not everyone does things properly. There is a lot of ignorance of the law shown in landlord tenant issues on both sides.

In the divorce proceeding was the residence temporarily awarded to her in initial orders? If so the husband may be in the position of having to cure whatever condition is leading to his fathers actions.

It's messy..... Getting the Father-in-law to realize HOW messy could have a stabilizing effect.

It will also be expensive..... It sounds like neither she or the husband have money and that the Father-in-Law has a little and at least has credit.

You've described a situation that in the end will probably NOT play out well for her and in the long run will be very expensive in legal fees.

SO it probably comes down to where you stand.....

Front cost of the Legal Battles?

or

Move the Baby Out overnight and she can be done with that issue.

or

Go have a drink at a strip club and ask each lady you meet if they are interested in an all expense week wherever you were taking the SB and go have some NSA fun


Options one and two are definitely going to cost you thousands of bucks..... and in the long run possibly complicate her life in the divorce proceeding.....

What's your situation like? If there is more going on and you get drawn into this do you face an repercussions?

She needs an attorney ASAP. Usually, she will be entitled to some equitable amount if she proves that her money/ marital funds have gone toward paying for the house. Time is of the essence. She needs to call the local bar association and get a referral if she doesn't already have a divorce attorney. Time is absolutely of the essence.

Ownership? Not a chance. This is an example of why state law requires deeds, recorded docs, written contracts.
"Dad" owns it and apparently has an atty - thus the eviction papers.
Your vacation? Toast.
Muse is correct, she needs an atty fast.
Objectives are:
1. Time to find another place.
2. Possible inclusion of some value in the divorce property settlement with ex.
Shark friend of mine up here has had a few of these, and Judges doing property settlements are not dense.
So how much does she want to spend?
Cause if ex has no other attachable assets of his own for a divorce property settlement, well...
Regardless, she will be moving.
Last, even though she kept paying the mortgage, "Dad" will call that a substitute for rent.
I and both of the other above posters can see the stage script already writing itself and it's most likely that your friend will not have a happy ending.

Thanks for the advice. When she told me the situation about the house a month back, I did not think things would end well for her. But she was in the process of looking for a real estate attorney and I figured I didn't want to just give her bad news (let her hear it from the lawyer). I guess she ended up slacking off on that and now is scrambling for an attorney.

She does already have a divorce lawyer, but she's just passed the bar I guess and isn't comfortable with the real estate issues.

Sounds like there's no lease or any rental agreement. The ex had filed for bankruptcy years back, and the father in law agreed to "help" by applying for the loan and putting the house in his name, with a verbal agreement that the son / my SB make all payments for taxes, insurance, mortgage, etc. They also spent a good amount remodeling and upgrading the home. It was agreed (again verbally) that the home would be the kids. I think they've been there for 4-5 years.

At this point she doesn't want to keep it, just get equity out of it in the sale. She had offered to split it 3 ways with the father in law and now he's saying the house is 100% his and she'll get nothing.

She is SOL...but they can't evict her with out following the legal process. It doesn't happen that fast.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in divorce court. If she has cancelled checks from a bank account in her name it may help a little. I'm not an attorney...but have quite a bit of experience in mortgage finance. She doesn't need to panic and move in 3 days...but needs to find a place to live in the next 45-60 days. Should not affect your trip anyway.
Have fun!

Who claimed the mortgage interest deduction on their federal tax return?

I'm betting it was the Dad that owned the home, even though he wasn't making the payments.

If he is now claiming the mortgage payments were rent, I'm betting he wasn't filing a Schedule E to claim rental income.

Her lawyer can use that info as leverage.

If this situation is in California, then she has a fighting chance.....but should get an attorney ASAP !

Who claimed the mortgage interest deduction on their federal tax return?

I'm betting it was the Dad that owned the home, even though he wasn't making the payments.

If he is now claiming the mortgage payments were rent, I'm betting he wasn't filing a Schedule E to claim rental income.

Her lawyer can use that info as leverage. Originally Posted by The Eternal Bachelor

Another good point that could be used to get the Father In Law to rachet it down a notch.

Needs to be properly played by an experienced Divorce Attorney.

I don't see anything A Real Estate Attorney will accomplish other than taking your money.

One of those situations where the lawyers and the IRS walk away with the money....

She doesn't need to panic and move in 3 days...but needs to find a place to live in the next 45-60 days. Should not affect your trip anyway.
Have fun! Originally Posted by alaine

I wouldn't use the word Panic but it is a situation that calls for immediate attention.

A lot of things can happen in 3 days. Owner could pop in and pack all of her shit and move it to storage, change all the locks and take residence himself or put someone new in place and she could return and be homeless with a fight on her hands that will cost her money to fight....

Owners do not always do things the RIGHT or LEGAL way and often get away with it because of the costs involved in correcting it.

I know a guy that did exactly this last month after discussing it with someone. The end result was a lot of yelling and screaming and a tenant that may have been wronged but lacked the money to make something of it.

I can't believe I'm agreeing with Whispers, but yes. And it appears that he agrees with me that this belongs with an experienced divorce atty. But that gets back to what the ex may have to go after for divorce property settlement.
If nothing, as was originally indicated, move asap. And stop paying the mortgage.

I can't believe I'm agreeing with Whispers, but yes. Originally Posted by Unique_Carpenter

LOL... That chokes so many to have to say!